Guidelines for Netting a Salmon

Netting a salmon or any other large fish for that matter, is something some of us seasoned fishermen take for granted, while others shutter at the chance they may knock a good fish off. It is a task that is learned, so if you have the chance, pay close attention when someone else is doing it. Watch how it is done by guides or experienced fisherpersons. There are specific things needed in the equation to have it go smooth & successful.

It has been said many times that most fish that are lost are within 10' of the boat. From personal observation, it appears that this may be divided about equally between the rod handler's & the netter's responsibility. The percentage of lost fish goes up dramatically in direct relationship to the decline in fishing/netting experience. Then occasionally the fish gods happen to smile on some of us, no matter what we do wrong.

Fish have & will be netted in nets of many colors. But think about it especially if you ever get into the situation where you are alone & need to net your own fish. The net bows can be plain aluminum, anodized gold, blue or black. Net bags also come in different colors. If I was setting out to purchase a new net, I would look for a dark, preferably black bow & bag. The reason is, in my estimation, this color seems to have the least chance of the fish seeing & be spooked if it is either slightly above the water or in the water.

Another thing I do that has nothing to do with netting, but may save the day, is to use the foam in a can that is used for household crack insulation. Pull the net handle's end caps off. Place a 1/4" plastic tube about 2' long on the spray snout, reach in as far as you can & spray this insulation INSIDE the handle, back the plastic tube out as you spray. Turn the handle around & do it from the other end, filling the handle with a floatation. Otherwise complete nets have been known to sink if dropped overboard.

NUMBER ONE : You have to net the HEAD of the fish, not the body. Fish do not have a reverse gear, but can turn on a dime & give you 9 cents back. Do not try to net the whole fish, but it helps if the majority of the fish is headfirst in the net in the end. Concentrate on getting the head in the net & if you do a good follow thru, usually the rest will follow if you do your part. You normally will want the fish to tire out before you try to net it, however sometimes you have to take the fish when the opportunity presents itself.

By watching, after a while you will get the hang of how each different specie of fish will react when being fought & landed. This is important in the fact that you will after a while be able to anticipate what the fish will do, & be ready to intercept it.

Lead him in a little closer	Turn him around, I can't net his tail

DO NOT put the net in the water & hope the rod handler can lead the fish into the bag. Hold the net at ready just above the water & with your leading hand hold the bottom of the bag lightly with a finger, this keeps the bag out of the water preventing scaring the fish. When you make the pass to get the fish, the net will pull out of the finger's light grasp.

Under most conditions, the fish will have to get tired out enough to be able to be led into the net. As shown here the netter will have to wait for the right moment. Then he can quickly jab the net into the water in front of the fish, when the fish is in the bag, jerk the handle back up, closing the bag. For most salmon, do not try to lift the net plus the fish horizontally out of the water & into the boat. You can bring the net close to & against the side of the boat with the handle pointing up, this will trap the fish against the side of the boat, somewhat immobilizing it. Then if the fish is large & or legal, you can get ahold of the upper net hoops & lift it in that way. Otherwise you put a lot of strain on the net handle & bow, thereby running the chance to loose a nice fish when the net breaks.

Not the recommended way to bring the fish aboard, rather hard on nets

If you are fishing in an area where you do have to release a fish, because of selective harvest regulations, it is best to be able to identify the specie while it is still in the water way before the netting time. Here it takes studying the characteristics, markings & just how the fish reacts. If it is a non targeted fish, (like a non clipped adipose finned Coho) there are other less stressful methods of releasing a fish without netting them. Under this non targeted fish situation, some state's regulations say that you are not allowed to raise a fish above the gunwale of the boat.

Here is the place to use a dehooker instead of the net, & not take the fish out of the water. CLICK HERE FOR LINK

If you have to net the fish & then release it, you can hold the the netted fish against the side of the boat. Here it has been found that if you roll the fish over onto it's back while still in the net & just at water level, it will usually calm down enough to unhook it without taking it out of the water & then you can release it.

If the fish is a legal keeper & still in the net at the side of the boat & thrashing around, you may want to "Bonk" it on the head, with your "Welcome Aboard" billy club. Otherwise bring it aboard & then bonk it while still in the net. Remove the hooks, take your pictures etc. To make for better eating of any fish, it is best to bleed them as soon as possible. This is done by cutting or pulling some of the gills out. Some fisherpersons who do not have special fish-boxes built into the boat, then may tie a rope thru the gills, out the mouth & drag it over the side of the boat for 10 min or so, allowing it to bleed out & keep the blood out of the fishbox. This however can be a good way to loose the hard earned fish to a seal or shark.

Most well prepared fisher-persons will instead put them in a chest cooler that has ice in it. Sure you will get blood accumulate in the bottom, but there is usually a drain plug in these coolers. Many fishermen make a slightly raised slatted false bottom in the cooler, so the blood & water will drain down, allowing the fish to still be in the non contaminated ice. If you happen to know a retailer who uses the shopping carts that have the plastic square grating on the bottom & sides, see if they have any damaged ones & if you can get one, cut the bottom out to fit the size of your ice cooler bottom.

A 26# Chinook the net, with the bag closed, note the downrigger swung rearward out of the way	A nice 23# Chinook in the net at Westport 2009. This photo was being taken while the resisting fish was still in the water, but snapped just as the netter scooped it in. A lucky photo shot.

The pictures using the black net bag were taken at Sitka Alaska in May of 2005 fishing with L&M Charters with the exception of the above RH photo. The Alaskan raingear was standard even during a nice day as the skipper could hose down the deck along with any bloody pants of the crew to keep the boat clean.

One thing you will see in these pictures is that the skipper is wearing Polaroid glasses. This helps him see into the water better, cutting out the surface glare. This allows him to see the fish better & to help anticipate the fish's moves.

After being hooked, some fish will want to stay on one side of the boat, or go one certain direction. This could be caused by just were the lure's hook is located in the fish's mouth. If they want to go to one side of the boat, let them, not because you are right handed & prefer one corner of the boat to do the netting your way. Trying to make a fish go to the other side of the boat if it does not want to, can create problems in itself & can very well contribute to loosing the fish. Or if possible maneuver the boat to the opposite side of the fish more to YOUR advantage so you can take it on the side that helps you. Or learn to net left handed.

If the fish heads under the boat, have the fisherman place the rod tip or the whole top section even to the reel if need be in the water deep enough to clear the hull & prop. You do not want the line dragging across the bottom of the boat or to get snagged in the prop or rudder. If the fish wants to stay under or go to the other side, have the fisherman keep the rod in the water deep enough to clear things & then have him move around to the other side & resume fighting the fish. Some fish (especially ocean Chum) may even want to hide right under the boat.

Most times if I am trolling with downriggers & get a fish on, I do not shut off the trolling motor, I may slow it down some, but never off or out of gear, UNLESS it is a BIG fish & is putting up a fight or taking out line. If this is the case then QUICKLY pull the other gear up, clear the downrigger balls & take it as it may come even to the point of chasing the fish. If the fish is really taking out line in the opposite direction, you may have to make a decision very quickly (to give yourself enough time to get your gear in) & possibly have to chase one to be able to recover some line.

I prefer to have the netter standing in one of the rear corners of the boat. This gives him a better chance to take the fish on the side or slightly at the rear if need be. This also means if you are downrigger trolling & have the downrigger mounted on the rear corner, you will have to pull the cable & ball in & swing the downrigger around out of the way. You can net from the center of the boat with the downrigger wire still out, BUT the netter has to be GOOD, the rod person be experienced & the fish small enough that it will cooperate. This will probably only present itself if there are more than one fish on at a time. In any case it is best to pull the downrigger wire up as soon after the fish is hooked as you do not want the fishing line tangled around the downrigger wire. All the more reason for electric downriggers with an automatic retrieve button.

Initially the fish may make a run or two, maybe even 3 or 4. Sometimes they will initially come right into the boat & then decide this is not where they want to be. If it is a Chinook, usually it will make deep runs. Then it may show on the surface once & you can get a chance to see it. Chinook will not usually jump during the fight. If it is a Coho, it will usually stay near the surface, & will normally jump repeatedly, even right up to the time of netting. I was once in a guide's boat on the Keni River that a Coho hooked from another client aboard, even jumped right in the boat & landed at my feet before the guide had a chance to get the net out.

During this initial fighting time, the rod person needs to keep the rod at about a 45 degree angle to use the backbone of the rod to subdue the fish. With the reel's drag set properly, if the fish decides to dive, run or move suddenly, between this reel's drag & the whippy tip section of the rod act like a bungie cord & allow the fish to do it's thing without breaking off the leader, line or even the rod. If a large fish is not making long runs anymore, but is being stubborn & diving that you can not control, DO NOT THINK THAT YOU NEED TO TIGHTEN THE REEL'S DRAG. In many cases, just the opposite, loosen the reel's drag slightly. Sure this may extend the fight somewhat, but will also possibly ensure you a better chance to finally net the fish by not having it break off by a sudden move that YOU can not react fast enough to, when the fish is right next to the boat.

In the photo on the right below, this Spring Chinook of about 25# hit the lure, missed & turned to where it got hooked in the tail. It took us downriver about 1 1/2 miles even before we could see it. Then OH $HIT when we saw the situation, then many dogged runs, but the netter did not have a chance to net the head. It finally made a run under the boat & pulled the hook out on the jet unit.

Here is a August 2010 16# Willapa Chinook	Not an easy netting, & usually the odds are with the fish. This spring Chinook probably would have weighed in at about 25#

During the final stages of the fight if it is a large fish, & after the fish is close to the boat, (like say 20' +) a good method is to drop the rod tip to near the water, but if the fish is to the right, place the rod to the left. Keep the tension & keep reeling, when the fish then goes to the rod switch sides & place the rod to the right of the fish & continue reeling, allowing the drag to function if the fish is resisting. This prevents a large fish from diving right at the boat & possibly breaking a rod because you can not react fast enough. Using this method also puts more strain on the fish & not the fisher.

Then approaching net time, the rod can still be used right or left but slightly raised more upright to raise the fish enough for the netter to accomplish his task. But at this point, the rod handler also needs to be very conscious as to what the fish may do, like make possibly another run, if so the fisher needs immediately drop the rod & let the rod take up the pressure.

If the rod is held high & straight up when the fish decides to dive, the rod WILL probably be broken as it can not flex enough. It is about impossible to bring a fish to net with a 7' rod & 10' of gear/leader to the fish unless the fisherman is a VERY tall person.

On the final stages with the fish at the side of the boat, the fisherperson should not pull hard enough as to lift the fish's head out of the water. Fish seem to get very excited when this happens & could pull the hook out. Again, the fish needs to be at the surface but not out of the water for the netter to do best. A NO -NO for the rod person if they can not control the fish & raise it to the surface during the last phase just before netting is DO NOT reach ahead of the rod's cork front handle & hold onto the rod's lower section to gain leverage. This puts a lot of strain on the rod & IF the fish decides to make one last run, can very well break even the best rod.

This is also the time for the fisherman to step rearward (toward the center of the boat) to bring the fish closer to the boat & at the same time not put any extra stress on a high rod.

As soon as the fish is in the net, the fisherperson needs to drop the rod tip down & pull some line off the reel, giving slack so that after the netting, & getting the fish aboard that the rod tip does not get broken or the hooks pull out & impregnate someone.

With all the above said, there will be exceptions. This could be if you can see the hooks are not well hooked & may tear out at any time. In this case you will have to make some quick decisions. This could be IF the fish gets close enough & IF you are a good netter, then within safety reaching limits of the net handle, possibly try to net a little farther away from the boat if the fish will not come near enough. Or for the netter to make a quick jab in front of the fish if the timing seems perfect, but before the fish is tired out & really ready to net. However this can lead to loosing a fish IF the fish is not cooperating & timing not perfect.

Coho hardly ever give up unless they have jumped & rolled enough to tangle themselves in the leader. However do not rely on this as I have seen two nice ocean Coho in the 15# range fight just like a Chinook, so much so that they were brought aboard without even double checking for telltale spots or gum-lines.

Netting If You Are Alone : Here another set of guidelines come into play. Fishing alone complicates matters immensely, as you have to handle the rod, reel & fish on the line, plus the net & maybe even the boat all at the same time. Here is where preparedness pays off, as you will have to have the net close enough to get to, the handle extended & locked in place, the deck clear of clutter & also to be able to operate the motor if necessary. This is where a separate electric start tiller operated trolling motor really comes in handy.

Again, knowledge of just how each specie will react when coming to the boat will only be learned by experience. But possibly some of what you read here will get you to thinking to your advantage when the time actually comes.

You need to tire the fish out to the point that it can be led into a net that is possibly partly in the water this time. Yes, I know in the previous instructions I said not to put the net in the water & try to lead the fish in, well here may be the exception. However, here still hold the net bag with the finger if possible until the last second. In tiring out the fish, (usually a Chinook) when they lay over on their side as you bring them to the boat is a sign that they have given up. You however will have to be prepared before that if the fish comes in close enough, & is in the right position before being completely tired out that you can make your move. As said before, how well it is hooked may also be a deciding factor in your decision when to net.

What works well for me since I am right handed & will be holding the net in my right hand, is to try to fight the fish on the front 1/2 of the Starboard side with me standing near the stern. This places the fish along side of the boat's forward side, if the fish decides to go under the boat no real problem, as compared to heading in & under the motors if I was on the Port side. However, fight the fish farther forward than just straight out from the boat. Manipulate the boat's position to allow you to do this. This allows you to force the fish to swim toward you along side of the boat so you can net it head on. Instead of having just a tail shot if coming straight in when it turns right or left at the side of the boat.

You may also practice netting left handed for a partner just in case you need to do that alone.

If the fish is large & you can not really control it, & your trolling motor is electric start & handy, you may consider positioning the boat to your best advantage as mentioned above. You can back the boat around so the fish is on the side you want it to be. This will pertain only if you are not anchored & have to fight the fish & the current all at the same time, so you may have to come up with your own methods.

You also may want to DECREASE the reel's drag slightly. This is so that since you will have other things on your mind, & if you have the line reeled in so the swivel & snap is at the rod tip, WHEN the fish makes another run or possibly jump while being right at the boat, it can pull line out preventing a hook pull out or even rod breakage. If it does make a jump, drop the rod tip to lessen the chance of it breaking off when it hits the water & makes another run out again.

Remember this is where all you have worked for preparing your boat & gear really pays off when the fish is IN THE BOX. So plan your attack, & execute it as planned.